


Basket For One

by girl_next_door_writes



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:14:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27898897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girl_next_door_writes/pseuds/girl_next_door_writes
Summary: A bit of fluff about modern AU Hux shopping for groceries.
Relationships: Armitage Hux & Reader, Armitage Hux & You, Armitage Hux/Reader
Kudos: 23





	Basket For One

The store was fairly quiet, as was always the case when Armitage stopped by on his way home from work. It was one of the benefits of working such antisocial hours, one of the very few. Securing his facemask, he took his hand gel and sanitising wipes from his canvas shopping bag. Squirting a penny-sized glob into the palm on his hand, he rubbed the liquid into his skin as he watched the couple before him in the queue entered the bright lights of the supermarket. Pulling out a sanitizing wipe, he securely closed the packet and slipped on his disposable gloves. If he was being honest, these new hygiene measures pleased him. The mask hid his face so he could pretend not to recognise people, he often wore gloves, so he didn’t have to touch things other people had, he allowed himself a small smile at that thought. The poorly paid employee stood in the doorway beckoned him forward, allowing him in from the cold and dark. Picking up a plastic basket, Hux paused to ensure he fully sanitised every inch of it with his sanitising wipe before heading into the store.

The tinny music playing over the speakers made the hair on the back of his neck stand up immediately with irritation. Some variation of Christmas music only sang by ‘Karen from the deli’ to get around any risk of paying royalties. The beat a little off, the vocals a little pitchy, the overall effect just horrific. His brow furrowed as he clung to the handle of his basket a little tighter, marching along the one-way system in an attempt to be done with this process as soon as possible.

He had been replaying one of the many interactions he’d had with Ren that day, thinking of all the things he could have said, all the witty and scathing comebacks, when he was stopped in his tracks. An elderly couple were weaving, slowly, down the aisle and it seemed that no matter which side Armitage attempted to pass, they meandered that way and impeded his progress. Stopping dead, he tapped his foot impatiently, the sound of his expensive leather against the slippery linoleum echoing. Looking around, he wondered if he could just go back the way he had come, but the one-way system was in place for good reason and he didn’t want to encourage other people to ignore the safety precautions, that could lead to chaos. The elderly couple were now standing to one side, discussing which type of pasta to purchase, and Hux took his chance, slipping past them and continuing on his shopping experience. 

It was almost as if he moved on auto-pilot, picking up the same things he purchased each time and placing them carefully in his basket. Pouches of luxury cat food, packaged meals for one, a Warburtons half a loaf because he knew a full loaf of bread would go mouldy before he could eat it all. He knew he should eat healthier, knew he should actually cook, but by the time he got home it was the last thing he wanted to do. Anyone glancing in his basket would be able to tell he was a single man and that thought played on his mind occasionally. How nice would it be not to eat alone? To have someone waiting for him when he got home? Someone other than Millicent. His life didn’t really allow for the opportunity to meet anyone who he might consider inviting into his home, so it seemed that his basket would remain resolutely broadcasting his lack of connection.

“Oh, sorry.” His basket hits his thigh, and he turns to the voice, prepared to remind the person who had just bumped into him that there was a 3 meter rule, only to find the words dying on his lips. His eyes met a her and he found he couldn’t maintain eye-contact. Instead, he glanced at her own basket, chocolate, a bottle of alcohol, a couple of meals for one. His mask hid the way the corners of his lips quirked up as he thought how similar the basket felt to his. 

“It’s okay. My fault for standing in the middle of the aisle.” He met hers eye again and could tell she was smiling which made his stomach flip. For a moment, there seemed to be endless possibility, he could be witty and charming and exchange numbers… but that’s not the kind of man he is. He is awkward, all edges and corners, not the sort of man who flirts in a supermarket and all too soon she have moved away, continuing on with her evening. 

Heading to the self-service, the fewer people who touched his things the better, he placed his basket down carefully. Opening his canvas bag, he hung it over the available hooks ready to place his goods safely inside. The tone of the beep each time he scanned a barcode grated on his soul, each one mocking him for being unable to hold a conversation with a girl. Paying for his shopping, he waited for the receipt and folded it carefully, sliding it into his wallet. Placing his basket in the pile beneath the till, he turned to go, practically walking into the person on the next station. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” He began, to make his uncharacteristic apologies.

“I’d say this makes us even.” A familiar voice replied, and he looked up in surprise. “You want to go first, or shall I? Or maybe we should walk out together, that way there’s less chance of us physically running into each other again.” This was it, an opening, a second chance, but would he take it?


End file.
